Mchinji’s war on gender ills

Last year, Chifundo Tengani “lost everything” to her husband and discovered how long travels force survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) to abort the search for justice.

Her dilemma started with pillow talk in Maole Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Mduwa in Mchinji District, where GBV is rampant.

She recalls: “One night last August, my husband told me to pack up and relocate to his home in Gumba Village near Chimwamkango Estate.

“The next day, he hired a lorry which carried our four-year-old child and everything we had accumulated: chairs, utensils, 18 bags of maize… Strangely, he left me behind and didn’t come back to pick me up with the remaining child as promised.”

As the wait lengthened, the hasty relocation struck Tengani as theft by trick or property grabbing.

“He couldn’t pick up my calls or support her child. He remarried. He grabbed our shared property to impress the new wife. It pained me, but I didn’t know my rights and where to complain,” she says.

Raising a child single-handedly pushed Tengani to endure a long walk to Ludzi Police Unit, a 20-kilometre return trip worth about K10 000 on a motorcycle. The police summoned her and the husband for a hearing at a victim support unit.

“The police officer at the victim support unit explained the ills of GBV and ordered him to return all the shared property, but he hasn’t and I cannot make follow-ups because the trip is costly and draining.”

This mirrors the agony of GBV survivors, especially women and girls, in rural communities where poverty and gender inequalities remain widespread despite counter-efforts by government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

Closing the gaps

Last August, protesters torched Mikundi Police Unit in an attempt to deal with two adults, who maimed a 15-year-old boy. Ever since, people from T/A Mduwa have had to endure costly trips to report crimes at Ludzi or Kamwendo police establishments.

Locals say public rage was fanned by selective justice as police officers were reportedly slow to help poor citizens and eager to take kickbacks from the well-off offenders desperate to terminate bad cases.

Concerned Youth Organisation (CYO), with funding from Irish Aid through Oxfam, is working with Mchinji District Council to strengthen community structures to tackle GBV.

The Reducing Poverty and Inequality in Malawi project has revamped trained and engaged community victim support units (CVSUs), women forums and care groups.

To restore law and order, the campaigners mobilised affected communities in Mduwa to rehabilitate Mikundi Police Unit.

“Following dialogues with community leaders, citizens have reconstructed the vandalised structure and police have promised to deploy eight officers once they install electricity,” says CYO field officer Aubrey Chidziwitsano.

The activist expects the reporting and handling of GBV cases to improve.

“With a functioning police unit close to where they live, survivors won’t be forced to conceal or drop cases due to long trips and extra costs,” he says.

During the annual 16 Days of Activism against GBV, Inspector Florida Chilakalaka, Mchinji community policing coordinator, said handling GBV cases with urgency and integrity is pivotal to sustaining public trust and ending gender-based crimes.

“Refuse bribes when handling GBV cases,” she implored.

The police, court officers and child protectors work closely with community agents, hopping from village to village to educate citizens on how to identify, prevent, report and end GBV.

CYO is implementing the project in T/As Mduwa and Mkanda.

Mchinji District Council principal gender officer Mariana Kanjirawaya says: “We don’t want GBV cases to rise, but drop to zero. So, we are grateful to dedicated partners such as CYO and Oxfam whose relentless efforts are helping us reduce GBV in the district.”

CYO has trained the revamped CVSU committees in gender laws and case management, including how to detect and refer gender-related crimes to police, social welfare officers, one-stop centres and other relevant pathways.

Together with government agents, the local agents hold open-air meetings in their communities to unpack gender issues. 

“The project has helped us realise our rights, gender laws, and where to report GBV. We cannot fight for our rights unless we know where to go,” says Chikondi CBO chairperson Limbikani Nyambose.

Her community organisation was formed in 2010 to confront poverty and breakdown in marriages, which force children to quit school for illicit marriages and other risky escapes. She says illegal separations, property grabbing, child marriages and teen pregnancies remain rampant in the rural locality.

“Instead of enabling and concealing GBV, community leaders should lead local efforts to combat all forms of human rights violations,” Nyambose states.

Breaking the silence

With increased awareness in GBV hotspots and among change agents, a culture of secrecy is waning.

“Mdulira CVSU received training in how to handle GBV cases with dignity. Since we respect survivors’ rights, more people are reporting their cases. The CVSU receives up to 16 GBV complaints daily,” child protector Yamikani Nowa says.

They also help identify GBV survivors earmarked to get tailoring and carpentry skills to become self-reliant.

“We need to protect each other. If we join hands to end GBV and poverty, we can create a safe world for all,” said CYO board member Estiner Katengeza during a monitoring visit alongside her colleague Maynard Nyirenda.